Sharks' GM Wilson protesteth too much

As the Detroit News's Ted Kulfan noted, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was pleased that Todd McLellan earned the opportunity to coach the San Jose Sharks, but a comment made by Sharks GM Doug Wilson during the presser to introduce McLellan, innocently noted by NHL.com's Brian Compton, is a little suspect:

June 16, NHL.com: Just eight days after hoisting the Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh, the Detroit Red Wings assistant coach was named the seventh head coach in Sharks history at a press conference at HP Pavilion. He replaces Ron Wilson, who coached San Jose from 2002 until this season; Wilson was named head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this week.

This will be McLellan's first head coaching job in the National Hockey League. Prior to his three seasons in Detroit as one of Mike Babcock's assistants, McLellan was head coach of the American Hockey League's Houston Aeros from 2001-05. He guided Houston to a Calder Cup championship in 2003, and overall, his record with the Aeros was 154-111-37-18.

"Everywhere I looked for a flaw or for some type of concern, the check mark that came back was good," Doug Wilson said of his new coach. "This was a thorough process. We got the right guy. He wanted to be here as much as we wanted him, and that's a nice match."

So much so that Wilson said McLellan was on the phone with the Sharks' GM just hours after the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh. McLellan's desire to coach one of the more talented teams in the League -- combined with his obvious desire to become a head coach in the NHL -- made San Jose the perfect fit.
...
Detroit's march to the Cup was the obvious reason why the Sharks waited more than a month to name a replacement for Ron Wilson. Since McLellan was a top candidate for the job, the Sharks waited until the completion of the Stanley Cup Final before pursuing him.

"When we identified that this is a gentleman we wanted to interview, we made sure -- and this is a policy that we have -- that we were not going to interfere with anybody who was in a present coaching position until their year was over," Wilson said. "We are very, very pleased to have a guy that fits for us now and for the future. He is a winner. He understands the expectations and he welcomes the expectations.

So how did McLellan learn that he was the Sharks' #1 candidate for the job? Did a little bird tell him? I'm not about to suggest that the Sharks colluded to explicitly recruit McLellan during the playoffs, but there's little doubt that a friend of a friend must have let it slip that if McLellan wanted a head coaching job, he might give Wilson--who says that he conducted an before settling on the "perfect choice"--a call after the Finals ended. McLellan talked to the Thrashers as well, and it's hard to believe that he focused his attention upon Atlanta and San Jose instead of pressing for the Senators' or Panthers' jobs unless he knew which teams were interested in him.